While Kevin Durant continues to move forward in his career, he has an incredible group of people supporting him throughout his journey. Many athletes point to their families, especially their mothers, as their biggest inspirations, and Durant certainly has a special woman who has always been by his side. So, who exactly is Wanda Durant?
Kevin's mother, usually in the stands enthusiastically cheering her son on, has been his biggest fan and greatest supporter from the beginning. But in addition to supporting Kevin, she now uses her gifts as a speaker and philanthropist to tell her and her family’s own stories to inspire others.
Now that Kevin has reached the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors, Wanda is always by her son's side. Just recently, Wanda publicly defended her son against ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, who called Kevin's move to the Golden State Warriors "weak" in a 2016 Twitter post ". Wanda responded on First Take ,
"I thought (what he said) was very harsh. It was like, 'Who are you, Stephen A., to do this to my son?'"
This sounds like an incredible mom, and this example is just a small sample of their close relationship.
Most people learned about Wanda's story and how much she inspired Kevin after Kevin shared some beautiful words for Wanda at the end of his 2014 MVP acceptance speech.
Kevin said with tears,
"We shouldn't be here. You made us believe. You kept us off the streets. You put clothes on our backs and food on the table. When you didn't eat, you made sure we did. You went and you served us Sacrifice, you are the real MVP."
On Mother's Day 2016, Lifetime released a TV movie , The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story , and Wanda and Kevin's story continues to spread among non-sports fans. The film is produced by Queen Latifah and her production company Flavor Unit Entertainment, and focuses on Wanda's life raising Kevin and his brother Tony on her own. The film's title was inspired by Kevin's rousing closing statement during his MVP speech, in which he reiterated that Wanda was the true recipient of the honor.
Now a well-known figure in the sports world herself, Wanda used her experience, compassion, and presentation skills to launch a career as a motivational speaker. According to her official website, Wanda is a "strong leader, advocate, and philanthropist who is passionate about helping single mothers, women, and children." She is an active supporter of many organizations, including Kevin Du Rant Charitable Foundation, Tony Durant Reach Higher Foundation, Community Kinship Alliance, Single Parent Network, Baller Moms and many more.
It's such a beautiful thing to see a mother and son loving and supporting each other so honestly and openly. Kevin has made it clear that he owes a lot of his success to his mother's resilience and love, and there's no doubt that Wanda will always be by his side, cheering and inspiring him every step of the way.
In late 2016, during Kevin's season opener with the Warriors, Wanda simply told NBC Bay Area, "I love basketball and I love watching my kids play." She couldn't have said it better.
